Gonzalo Pizarro

Gonzalo Pizarro (1510-10 April 1548) was a conquistador of Spain who was the half-brother of Francisco Pizzaro and Hernando Pizzaro.

Biography
Gonzalo Pizzaro was born in Trujillo, Spain, and was the half-brother of Francisco Pizzaro and Hernando Pizzaro. The three of them became conquistadores for King Carlos I of Spain, and Pizarro assisted his brother Francisco in conquering the Inca Empire of Peru. Pizarro crushed Manco Qapac after a string of Inca Rebel victories against the Spanish authorities, but in 1537 his high period ended when Diego de Almagro - a disgruntled conquistador upset at not finding any gold in Chile - returned from Chile to take over lands for his son. Gonzalo and Hernando were captured in a failed attack on Almagro's city of Cuzco, but at the 1538 Battle of Las Salinas, the Pizarros defeated Almagro's army. Alongside the brave conquistador Francisco de Orellana, Pizarro set out to locate El Dorado and the City of Cinnamon (La Canela). In 1541, Pizarro returned to Peru and defeated Diego de Almagro's army at the Battle of Chupas on 16 September 1542.

In 1544, Emperor Charles V of Germany placed Blasco Nunez Vela as the new governor of Peru and passed laws that stopped the exploitation of Indians. Pizarro was mad, as this meant that he could not extract gold from them. Pizarro's name became a rallying cry for many conquistadores, and Vela was killed at the Battle of Anaquito on 18 January 1546. Pizarro took over Peru, but Emperor Charles V sent Pedro de la Gasca as the new governor. Gasca promised a repeal to the New Laws and pardon to any of the commanders of the revolt, so many of Pizarro's men deserted him. At the Battle of Jaquijahuana on 9 April 1548, Pizarro was defeated as his men fled his side, and he was decapitated on the battlefield. Hernando died at the age of 100 in 1608 four decades later back in Spain.